The present application relates generally to brake systems for hand operated vehicles and more particularly to mechanically actuated brake systems for hand operated wheeled vehicles.
Hand operated tool “trailers” are wheeled vehicles including a large, heavy and cumbersome item, such as a tool cabinet or chest, with wheels and a towing handle attached. Thus, such trailers typically require some type of reliable braking system. This is typically accomplished by disposing a handle at the front end of the trailer that is used for pushing, pulling and steering the trailer, and placing a hand operated braking lever adjacent to the handle that is operatively coupled to a braking mechanism associated with at least one of the wheels. The lever is typically actuated by a user's hand, thus activating the braking mechanism. Releasing the lever causes the braking mechanism to release the brake, thus facilitating trailer mobility.
However, due to these trailers' large size and heavy mass, the force necessary to apply sufficient braking resistance may be great, and generally much greater than can be supplied by a typical user's manual force exertion upon the lever. As such, these braking mechanisms are generally hydraulically assisted, thus allowing a user to apply minimal manual force to the braking lever which is proportionally multiplied to the braking mechanism by hydraulic mechanics. A limitation of such a braking mechanism is that such hydraulic assistance requires a complex and costly sub-assembly of hydraulic actuators, piping, fluid, and the like, all of which require frequent maintenance. Further, such a hydraulically assisted mechanism does not provide any safety mechanisms if, for example, the trailer runs out of control while descending a ramp or while the trailer is stowed.